False Growth

"The seed that fell among the thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature." Luke 8:14


     On my last day off from work I engaged in one of my favorite past times, yard work!  However; on this particular day I needed to clear away a few bushes and small tress on the back side of my yard that met with a wood line.  What I thought was going to be a few hours of removal turned into a thorn infested fiasco.  As I looked at the tree line from my back deck, I thought I was enjoying the lush green row of bushes and trees that connected my yard to the woods.  As I got into the tree line I found myself in a thicket that had overrun the entire area.  I tore my cloths, scratched my arms up and fought the entire day to only cut the thicket back enough to have three 10 ft. piles of brush that needed to be hauled off.  Almost every tree had vines growing up it that branched off into huge leafy canopies.  As I pulled the thirty foot long vines down I was amazed at how I could not see the false green in the trees.

     For several hours I contemplated the parable of the seed and sower found in Luke.  The thorns had grown up through the bushes and around the trees so subtly that what appeared to be good healthy growth was actually weeds blocking the sun and inhibiting what we wanted.  The vines had overtaken several trees and their leaves masked the bare limbs.  The Lord impressed on my heart that "this is how weeds overtake someone's life."  Very slowly fear, anxiety and distracting coping mechanisms overtake the hope in your heart and your ability to reason in faith.  When the worries of life become strong enough they block you from the light, separating you from the spiritual source of life and growth.  When you look at yourself from a distance you may appear to be lush and green.  You may appear to be healthy and full of growth, but when you get into the weeds you find that there is more fear than faith growing in your life.     

     What an overgrown mess to fight through.  It was no simple task removing unwanted thorns and vines that slowly made their way around everything.  Fortunately, by getting right in the middle of the thicket, I was able to determine what needed to stay and what needed to go.

     Maybe we can take a closer look at the individual elements that make up our lives rather than glossing over who we are as a whole.  Maybe we see leafy growth in our lives that looks good from a distance, but it is actually the "riches and pleasures" that give us a false sense of growth.  A personal examination may be painful to work through, but well worth the effort when we come out of the thicket of anxiety and doubt.

If it is God's plan for you...

"'I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord..." Jeremaiah 29:11

     E. V. (Ed) Hill, who pastored Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles, tells the story of how "Mama's" love and prayers changed his life. During the height of the Depression, Hill's real mother, who had five children of her own, didn't have enough food to go around, so she sent four-year-old Ed to live with a friend in a small country town called Sweet Home. Ed just called her Mama. As he was growing up in Sweet Home, Mama displayed remarkable faith which led her to have big plans for young Ed. Against nearly insurmountable obstacles, Mama helped Ed graduate from high school (the only student to graduate that year from the country school) and even insisted that he go to college.

     She took Ed to the bus station, handed him the ticket and five dollars and said, "Now, go off to Prairie View College, and Mama is going to be praying for you." Hill claims that he didn't know much about prayer, but he knew Mama did. When he arrived at the college with a dollar and ninety cents in his pocket, they told him he needed eighty dollars in cash in order to register. Here's how Hill describes what happened next:

I got in line …, and the devil said to get out of line …, but I heard my Mama saying in my ear, "I'll be praying for you." I stood in line on Mama's prayer. Soon there was [another new student ahead of me], and I began to get nervous, but I stayed in line …. Just about the time [the other student] got all of her stuff and turned away, Dr. Drew touched me on the shoulder, and he said, "Are you Ed Hill?" I said, "Yes." "Are you Ed Hill from Sweet Home?" "Yes." "Have you paid yet?" "Not quite."

"We've been looking for you all this morning," [he said].

I said, "Well, what do [you] want with me?"

"We have a four-year scholarship that will pay your room and board, your tuition, and give you thirty dollars a month to spend."

And I heard Mama say, "I will be praying for you!"